Volatile Markets, Retirement Income and the Risk of Time

Is a retirement income that’s guaranteed for the rest of your life important for you?

Studies show that over 60% of pre-retirees are most comfortable if their RRSPs and other savings would be 100% guaranteed to provide an income for life, regardless of market conditions.  

For safety and short term needs many people leave money in bank accounts, GICs and term-deposits. Savings of this kind are generally safe, but are growing at a rate that is barely keeping up with inflation. In many cases these savings may not be growing fast enough to meet longer term financial goals. 

It’s not that market risk or volatile markets are necessarily bad. In fact, higher risk tends to bring higher rewards with some investments. It is also technically correct that over time, securities markets outperform many other investment savings choices. But market rewards are gained at random times that don't match income requirements.


For those who will be taking income from savings  - an erratic or poor sequence of returns  5+ years before and or during early retirement years in particular can be financially devastating.

Longevity risk is another factor.  People are living longer which means savings need to be able to last longer and longer periods of time.

So time can be a critical factor when protecting savings that are earmarked to draw down as income.  

Thankfully there are a variety of guaranteed investments that take the risk of time out of your future financial plans.

To discover whether these guaranteed investment options meet your unique circumstances, some common questions to discuss might include:

•           Can lifetime expenses be covered by your current pensions, savings and government                  retirement benefits?
•       If the market drops 20% (or any number you'd wish to explore) during income years how          long will savings be expected to last?
•          Will there enough money to take care of dependants?
•       How do future travel plans and other bucket list items fit in?
•          If we eventually need to convert a nest egg into a guaranteed-for-life income stream, what          are the best available options and do they suit our needs?
•         Are long-term care costs factored into this equation?
•        After we’re gone, will we have enough to cover the needs of our survivors, bequests and           the charitable legacies that we wish to leave behind?

Knowing that we'll never run out of money for the rest of our lives is very helpful for most of us who like to sleep well at night. Control and access to our investment savings in case of emergencies are also important for many.                                                                               

Of the contractually guaranteed for life income solutions available today, some plans may also offer additional benefits to suit various circumstances such as:

•       Guaranteed growth of future income during savings years.
•       Plans that allow you to participate in the upside of the markets while also guaranteeing an         income for life.
•       Income payments that are guaranteed for life!
•       Other guarantees. For RRSPs and RRIFs in particular, your initial investment is the                   guaranteed minimum you'll be able to withdraw over time,  even if the market value  drops       below your initial deposits.
•       Control and access over your investments anytime. Just in case. 
•     Loss of control options that will pay a higher contractually guaranteed for life income are          also available when suitable.
•       Joint accounts, for the purpose of guaranteed income continuation for a surviving spouse.
•       Avoid probate. Note: If your wish is for your estate to avoid probate delays, taxes and fees - in most Canadian provinces, it is unnecessary to set up joint accounts with these types of guaranteed investments.
•       Transfer of residual proceeds to your beneficiaries can be delivered over time and/or as lump sums, as you see fit.

If you’d like to learn more about taking the risk of time out of your retirement income plans, I invite you to contact me today to help you discover if guaranteed investments are the right fit for you.

Please note: As an independent Certified Financial Planner and expert on guaranteed-for-life income solutions, I have personally invested in some of these solutions since they are also a perfect fit for my circumstances.

Jack Bergmans CFP

Certified Financial Planner/ Founding Partner 

Life Insurance & Estate Consultant

Bequest Insurance

jack@bequestinsurance.ca

Phone: (416) 356-4511 

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Have you set aside money in your Will to go to your favourite charities?

Even if you're still just thinking about it that's fantastic!  But if you could guarantee that your charities receive a much larger gift using this same money – and remove potential headaches for your executors – would you consider doing that instead?

Giving through your Will – a public document that all can see – can present challenges that you might not have thought of. 

For example, is there any chance that any of your beneficiaries may resent your charitable gifts because they feel that they deserve a bigger inheritance – especially if they have acted as your caregiver? It’s quite common that scenarios like this result in beneficiaries contesting philanthropic gifts made through a Will. 

Such challenges can result in significant delays in settling your estate. This adds significant legal costs that reduce the size of the estate for all of your beneficiaries, including your charities. This can decrease the size of charitable tax receipts that you may be counting on to reduce estate taxes in order to leave more to all your beneficiaries.

Also, the anger and disagreements that often surround contested Wills often permanently fractures families.

Here are three simple and cost-free ways that ensure your charitable wishes remain intact.

1. Give to your favourite charities while you are alive.  Time-honoured estate planning strategies often involve reducing the potential size of your estate. If you can afford to give now, your estate will be smaller so will its taxes, fees and many potential headaches for your executor.

2. Or if you are less than 80 years old, it’s often wise to use money you’ve set aside for your charities to buy a life insurance policy, naming your charities as its beneficiaries.

Life insurance allows anyone, even people of modest means, to give more.  In many cases, if you have normal health issues such as high blood pressure or cholesterol and they are effectively managed with medication, you are likely eligible to buy life insurance.  Finding out if you are insurable is actually a simple process.

When you choose a life insurance policy that grows in value over time you’ll get four important benefits without spending any more money:

i) You can withdraw the growing cash value inside your policy anytime, just in case you need money sometime down the road.

ii) The size of your charitable gifts increases over time so your charities can have a bigger impact on the causes close to your heart.

iii) Tax receipts to your estate also increase in value, helping to offset your potential estate income and capital gains taxes.

iv) Growth in the value of life insurance policies is tax-free so you’ll give more, without spending more.

Because life insurance policies are private, and usually can’t be contested*, you won’t lose control over your charitable intentions. Even better, because your death benefit will go to your charitable beneficiaries outside of your Will, your charities will get your gifts much faster and with very little effort on the part of your executor.

3. If you don’t qualify for life insurance, consider transferring your intended gifts into investments with an insurance company.  Such investments – including money market funds, GICs, segregated funds (the mutual funds of the insurance world) and annuities of any kind – are not considered part of your estate, which also makes your executor’s job easier. All your charities will receive the proceeds privately, quickly and unreduced by estate fees and probate taxes.

Now isn’t that something worth thinking about?

Note: To learn more about whether life insurance estate strategies are the right fit for your circumstances, you must consult with a licensed insurance professional. When using insurance strategies to multiply your generosity to charities, it’s ideal to consult an advisor who is well versed in maximizing the power of your charitable giving, while also reducing potential taxes and other challenges that your estate might incur.

Jack Bergmans, CFP

Best-selling author of
Ripple Effect: Growing your business through insurance and philanthropy  &
Multiplying Generosity: Creatively using insurance to increase legacy gifts

* Some exceptions

Maybe your RRSP contributions should be made before the end of the year?

In our practice we speak with many Canadians who have saved and/or are saving for retirement who have the common desire to have a rock solid core retirement income that's guaranteed to keep them in the lifestyle they prefer for life. Defined Benefit Plans once provided that guaranteed income but not many of us have those kinds of plans anymore.


Today we need solid lasting guaranteed investments that will provide for our own retirement income. Guaranteed income for life plans offered through insurance companies just might be that perfect fit!

A few of the key features of personal guaranteed income plans such as variable annuity plans (also known as GMWB's) are:
a) investors always have access to their savings in case they need their money.
b) plans are portable when people change jobs or can be changed to something else if better options become available sometime in the future.
c) some guaranteed income plans offer an additional 5% annual income bonus during savings years. - eg. RRSP contributions (and RRSP/RRIF switches) into guaranteed income plans that are made before the end of any year would receive the entire 5% annual income bonus.
d) lifetime retirement income might not be indexed to inflation.
e) investment choices fit the risk profile of many types of investors, but not everyone.

Who are guaranteed income plans intended for?

We find that clients who integrate guaranteed for life income solutions into their financial plans tend to do so for a few of common reasons. These often include such things as:

a) peace of mind that comes from having a lifetime core of guaranteed retirement income that will enhance CPP and Old Age Security (OAS) payments.
b) to enhance existing Defined Benefit plans in order to improve guaranteed anticipated lifetime income needs.
c) avoid outliving investment income. Usually this is done by converting personal  RRSP's,  RRIF's and Defined Contribution plans to guaranteed income plans but it is also done through non registered savings.
d) reducing or eliminating market risk in savings years leading up to and during retirement. These are known as the retirement risk zone years when savings that will be needed for retirement income should be fully protected.
e) annual RRIF income can drop like a stone whenever there are down markets but guaranteed income plans eliminate that risk by providing a nice smooth retirement income stream.

Please contact me anytime if you have any questions. Maybe your RRSP contributions should be made before the end of the year?




Jack Bergmans

jack@bequestinsurance.ca
416.356.4511

Should you consider getting life insurance before the rules change on Jan 1 2017?

Life insurance is commonly thought of as a simple estate planning tool. Yet it can also make a very powerful investment tool due to its favourable tax treatment.

Deposits and cash growth in life insurance policies are generally tax-free within certain limits, as are death benefits, which makes life policies used as investments very valuable.

On January 1, 2017 the part of the Canadian Income Tax Act governing life insurance policies will be amended to more accurately reflect changes in mortality rates (people are now living longer). It will also place additional limits on life insurance deposit amounts considered tax exempt.

If you decide to take advantage of life insurance for investment purposes and estate planning before these tax changes take place, your life policies will be grandfathered and provide you with the ability to invest more money tax-free than life policies purchased in 2017 and beyond.

There are many situations whereby you should consider investing in life policies before December 31, 2016. A couple of key situations include:

•  Your business is growing. Insurance taken out on the owners can create or strengthen succession plans to insure the business won't suffer when key people are unable to continue working for any reason.
•  You own properties whose value has grown beyond the capacity of your estate to cover estate tax obligations. It's possible that capital gains taxes will not allow you to have your estate assets distributed in the way that you’d like. Life insurance can be purchased to cover big tax hits such as these, and allow you to leave more to loved ones and charities.  

If you've already set aside specific funds to go to beneficiaries such as your spouse, grandkids, kids, community causes and charities, Bequest Insurance’s Generosity Multiplier™ can mobilize those funds to guarantee that your beneficiaries receive even more than you hoped, at no additional cost to you.

Rates of return on our Generosity Multiplier™ are based on age, and since none of us are getting any younger and tax changes are coming on January 1st, this could be the perfect time to contact Bequest Insurance to learn more about how you can reduce your taxes and leave more to meet your personal or business needs!

Should you consider buying prescribed annuities now to avoid 2017 tax increases?

Living longer than people in previous generations is great but more and more people are now worried about the possibility of outliving their savings. 

Because of this, guaranteed-for-life income solutions are becoming a vital investment component for many Canadians. 

Within the available choices of guaranteed-income solutions, prescribed annuities provide much higher annual take-home income than you'll get from other typical guaranteed savings choices due to both their structure and the overlay of significant tax benefits. For example*:

A 60 year old in the 40% tax bracket using $100,000 in savings to provide income for life :

Scenario 1: 2% GIC is purchased

Gross Income: $2,000

Taxable amount: $2,000

Net Annual Income: $1,200

Scenario 2: 5% Prescribed Annuity purchased

Gross Income: $5,000

Taxable amount: $1,054  (if purchased in 2016)

Net Annual Income: $4,578 

*Please note that this example is for illustration purposes only.

Your annual taxable amount is set for life when you purchase prescribed annuities.  If this same 5% prescribed annuity is purchased in 2017 the taxable amount is expected to increase from $1,054 to $1,450. 

It is also important to consider how various retirement income streams might lower or even eliminate your income tested government benefits such as your Old Age Security pension (OAS). For the 2016 taxation year OAS clawbacks begin when your total annual taxable amount (not your total income) exceeds $72,809.  OAS benefits are completely eliminated when your net income (including your OAS income benefit) is just over $118,000.

Prescribed annuities provide the benefits of higher incomes and low taxable amounts. This often a win-win-win for people looking for higher incomes, lower income taxes and getting the most from their income tested government pension plans.

You may now be asking yourself these questions:

• How do prescribed annuities or other guaranteed-for-life income options work?
• How is prescribed annuity income guaranteed and for how long?
• What is the value of my prescribed annuities to my estate, spouse and other beneficiaries when I die? 
• Are annuities suitable for me? Would they be suitable for my dependants?
• Are there guaranteed for life income annuities that allow me to access my capital just in case I need it? 
• Should I get prescribed annuities now to avoid tax increases coming in 2017? 

As always, please feel free to contact us anytime. We make every effort to answer these and any other questions you might have within one business day.

Best Regards


Jack

This is often a good time of year to review your financial needs.

The deadline for 2015 RRSP contributions this year is Monday Feb 29 2016.

RRSP contributions reduce your income tax owing at the income tax rate that you pay.
What that means is that if you're in the 30% tax bracket and you contribute $100, your real cost is only $70.

Money held within your RRSP's and RRIF's etc. grow tax free but are taxable at your income tax rate at the time you make withdrawals.

The maximum RRSP contribution limit for 2015 is $24,930 (based on your income in 2014), plus any unused deduction room you have left over from previous years. Your 2014 notice of assessment should have these figures for you.


This is often a good time of year to review your financial needs, ask a few pointed questions about how your plans will meet your future goals and also share any changes in your circumstances with your financial advisor.

We all know that hope is not a plan so if you're self funding your pension and RRSP's or wish to provide yourself with an increased retirement income, have you considered investing in worry free savings that will provide you with a guaranteed income for life, regardless of the markets and no matter how long you live?

Do you have charitable gifts in your Will?

Do you have charitable gifts in your Will?

The great things that you wish to accomplish with charitable gifts in your Will may be affected by changes to Canadian tax rules in Bill C-43 that come into effect January 1, 2016.


The new rules are generally more advantageous to gifts in Wills than the existing framework. They allow executors to allocate charitable tax credits to the donor’s final tax return, the previous year’s return, and/or any of the first three years of estate returns. Also, charitable gifts will also be valued on the day the gift is received by the charity. This is a major change – previously, the gift was receipted based on its fair market value on the donor’s the date of death.

You should also know that the first three years of an estate are now called a Graduated Rate Estate, or GRE. This means that income taxes paid by an estate in it’s first three years are based on a graduated scale. After three years estate income is taxed at the highest marginal income tax rate.

Your estate may be impacted if your charitable gifts are distributed after the three year GRE period. If this happens, the charitable tax receipt can only be applied against that year’s estate tax return, and can’t be allocated retroactively to the tax returns of the deceased or any of the years of the GRE’s existence.

If you want to donate appreciated assets to charities, the capital gains tax exemption for gifted property will no longer be available to the estate after the three year GRE period. This may result in smaller settlements to all beneficiaries due to unintended additional income taxes owing by the estate.

In many circumstances, the new GRE will be a non-issue. However, it may become expensive if your estate is complex and takes more than three years to settle, since your estate can lose the advantages of the GRE. For example, this may happen when charitable gifts are delayed until your spouse dies, or where other entities are involved such as corporations or family businesses that may need more time to be settled or restructured. The possibility of challenges to the Will may be another concern.

In fact, anything that may delay an estate from winding up before the 3 year GRE period expires may become an unintended and expensive situation for an estate that expects to use charitable donation tax credits and other tax-friendly strategies available only to the GRE. If your valuable charitable tax credits are forced to go unused, this will almost certainly throw a wrench into your best-laid estate plans.

If nothing else, Bill C-43 is a compelling reason to get proper legal and financial advice on your circumstances today to determine whether any changes should be made to your Will and to your current investments strategies to ensure that all of your legacy intentions will be met tomorrow.